Talk About Irrelevant
by TurnThePaige
Summary: Something is distracting Seven so much that she almost causes the whole ship to be destroyed! What could possibly be that important?


**Hello, everyone! Here's my very first Voyager fic. Cross you fingers! (FYI: This is Season Seven.)**

* * *

"Seven!" Janeway yelled over the com. "Where are those ships?"

"Stand by," Seven said, sounding distracted. Her fingers flew over the computer panels in Astrometrics.

There was a terrible rocking throughout the ship. "_Where_, Seven?" Janeway pressed

"Believe me, Captain, you'll be the first to know," Seven responded. Then she tapped her com badge. "Seven of Nine to Icheb."

"On my way," Icheb promised. He was there in a few seconds.

In eight seconds flat, Icheb had isolated the cloaking frequency and pinpointed the locations of the attacking ships. He fed the coordinates to Tuvok, who fired on and disabled the unknown enemy ships.

Seven stood, stunned, refusing to believe that she had not been able to find those ships. It was now apparent that she needed to resolve her situation. The guilt for what she had done was distracting her and impairing her ability to work.

* * *

"Lieutenant Paris," Seven said.

"Yeah?" Tom said, rolling out from under a car he'd been working on in the Holodeck. When he saw Seven, he was surprised and stood up. "Hey, Seven," he greeted her.

Seven was uncomfortable, but she knew that this had to be done. "I've been. . . distracted recently," she admitted, "and I need someone to. . . talk about it with."

"So. . . you come to me?" Tom said, disbelieving. It was no secret that Tom wasn't good with "feelings" and "drama". Then he saw that she was serious. "Well, okay. Shoot."

Seven was a bit confused by that terminology, but she continued anyway. "I have done something that I feel rather guilty about. I cannot work in this way."

"Well, I know all about guilt. What did you do?" Paris asked.

Seven hesitated. Had this been a good idea? It had seemed so only a moment before, but. . .

Tom saw her doubts. "Hey, I won't tell anyone," he promised.

Seven took a deep breath. "I-"

"Wait," Tom interrupted. "Is this the reason you couldn't find the cloaking frequency of those ships yesterday?"

"Yes," Seven admitted.

"Well, it must be bad, to make _you_ lose focus," Paris commented.

Seven looked at him with annoyance.

"Sorry," Tom said. "Go on."

"As I was saying," Seven said, "I've done something that I am ashamed of. I don't wish to admit to it, but I feel that it is the right thing to do."

Tom was silent; he was working on his listening skills. _B'Elanna would be so proud of me,_ he thought.

Seven convinced herself that she had stalled long enough. "I took a hyperspanner from you," she confessed. "I was unaware of its owner at the time that I took it. When I discovered that it was yours, I kept it regardless. Since then, I have. . . misplaced it."

Tom was silent again, trying to convince himself that he had heard her correctly. Then he couldn't help it. He laughed out loud. "That's it? Talk about irrelevant!"

At first, Seven was confused by this outburst. What was so humerous about her explanation? Then she realized that Paris thought her guilt was insignificant. Offended, Seven turned on her heel and headed for the exit of the Holodeck. She had told him what she had done. There was no more she could do.

"Wait!" Paris called after her. "Wait, I'm sorry. That was very rude of me."

"Yes, it was," Seven agreed. She turned around anyway.

"I'm sorry," Paris repeated. He cleared his throat. "What I meant to say was, don't worry about it. It's no big deal."

"You are not angry?" Seven varified.

"Not at all," Tom answered. "In fact, I was planning to give that hyperspanner to you anyway."

Seven was relieved. Why hadn't she confessed right away instead of letting guilt build up in her? She made a mental note to herself that she shouldn't let regret fester within her in the future. Only now did she realize how insignificant and harmless the act had been. She had made something out of nothing and it had interrupted her life.

Tom smiled knowingly. "Yeah, I know all about stealing stuff. It's always better to come out with it. Then you can stop feeling so awful."

Seven looked at Paris. That was exactly what she was thinking. "Thank you, Lieutenant," Seven said. Then she left him to his mechanics.

That day, Seven gained a new understanding and respect for Tom Paris. He may have been a joker, and perhaps he was rude sometimes, but when he wanted to, he could be quite kind.

Seven knew she wouldn't forget this experience.

* * *

**Ugh. That was NOT like I thought it would be. It didn't turn out right. It was cheesy! Grr. Oh well! Maybe I'm just being too self-critical. (But I don't think so) Review and tell me what you think PLEASE! If you don't, I'll assume you hated it and didn't want to hurt my feelings. (Go ahead and hurt my feelings! I'm a big girl. I can take it!) Seriously, when I don't get reviews, I get suspicious. . . .**


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